Electric Fans?

[James Hess]

Hey yall i am thinking of electric fans for my truck and dont know where to look any suggestions brand, type, size, twin, cost worthy? i am wanting to do this for a few reasons #1 MILAGE, i can definatly tell that it takes more throttle to get the truck moving when the fans are on and takes longer to get there if i have a light foot compared to when it isnt on. i know this takes away from milage and seeing as how nearly all of my driving is city stop and go from lights, stop signs, and traffic -:t i figure this would help. not expectin a huge difference but at least some. #2 BETTER COOLING, will this keep the truck cooler? i figure if i am going to change to electric fans while i am there i would switch out with a lower thermostat so that they are running more often keeping the truck cooler cause like i said alot of stop and go. i think someone on this site said that the LLY's had a overheating problem so just cheap insurance from bigger problems. #3 SOUND, i cant stand when that thing is on its freakin ANNOYING! all loud and sounding like crap. -:t thanks in advance.

[swatkins]

Well... Now that you mention it... I run all electric fans :)

You will need an auxiliary radiator to make it work well because the electric fans can't pull as much air as the factory fan..

[James Hess]

what size fans do you have, are you running a single or duals?

[Diesel Tech]

None of the electric fan kits on the market will do if you plan to do anything other than run your truck around empty. The aftermarket Fan pull less then 1/2 the air of the factory clutch fan when fully engaged. I do not think it helps any with mileage from the reports I been given from people who have done it already.

[RickDLance]

I've also heard they weren't for towing use, unless you have a v2.

I have heard claims of better mpg and performance though. No personal experience, just what I've heard.

[James Hess]

your talking about the v2 handheld from EFI live or are you talking about something else? there isnt a fan kit that is large enough to pull the CFM's needed i figure there has to be somethin out there cause why make something for these trucks that will perform less then factory standards. pay 40+k and you think you would be able to purchase a product with peace of mind its not a piece of crap and that it will work. but back to what Swatkins said i would need an auxiliary radiator to make it work cause they cant pull as much air this makes sense that it would work. where do you get this radiator and where do you put it? where do i begin to find these products aftermarket wise?

[RickDLance]

The V2 is the add on radiator from coolmyduramax.com

He also makes a fan kit. Swatkins has both IIRC.

[blksmok]

James, the V2 aux radiator is for guys that tow large loads (weight and sail area play into this) in high OAT's. It was designed to combat the overheat condition of the LLY. I had an OH'er LLY and bought a V2 w/fan for it from coolmyduramax. I then bought my LBZ and put the V2 on that. It works great and I can show it to you when we get together if you'd like. It sits down below the stack behind the front bumper, at about a 45° angle.

[madmaxdmax]

I used to run electric fans on my 4x4 Tacoma so that I could turn off the fans with an interior switch when crossing deep water . I had this set-up in order to prevent water from getting thrown all over under the hood. I did notice that the engine did run a little warmer on the highway, but I also gained some power as well. Not sure how effective electric fans would be for long term cooling. I personally would not rely on electric only. Pulley driven is def. more reliable IMO.

[swatkins]

James I sorry for the delay in the response... I was just clearing some things up .... I have been running and towing heavy with electric fans for two years now... I am on a trip right now and frankly a little disappointed with my truck... Today it was 95 and I was pulling slow in the Texas hill country... My truck was loud, drinking fuel, had no power and I felt like it was a piece of crap :(

OF course my electric fan setup is sitting beside the trailer on the farm and that is the #1 cause for my truck running the way it is now! I put the factory fan back in for a trip to the dealer and I have not had time to reinstall the other fans...

I have tons of data pulling with and without fans... My truck was the test platform for the Fan Damn system.. I am going out to eat just now but I will detail some of my experiences later tonight..

[James Hess]

i appreciate all the responses and Dave i definatly would want to see this setup i plan on having a 5th wheel or a tow behind toy hauler either setup depends on how high i put the truck but i would like the peace of mind i am not gonna have to pull over on the road in the middle of nowhere with steam billowing from my engine bay or worse (fire). Swatkins where in Texas you pullin through thats where i hail from, you say the hill country. near Austin, El Paso, Amarillo <---not really hill country but close enough, in the Edwards Plateau area?

[Azzkikrcuda]

If your going to do it yourself and try electrics don't waste your time with aftermarket fans. None I have seen have the CFM or reliability you need. 1st choice use 2 90's Lincoln Mark VIII fans, 4300cfm max and 3500cfm at 15 amps. 2nd choice use 2 90's ford Taurus 3.8 V6 fans, 3800cfm max and 2900cfm at 15 amps. Both have OEM quality and high cfm. The MarkVIII fans are bigger and might be harder to mount. For a controller I would run 2 SPAL PWM controllers, 1 for each fan. They vary fan speed according to temp and reduce load on the charging system. You could also wire them up to go full speed when ever the truck is running, being that your truck should have more then enough charging and battery capacity. Another good thing is that you can get these fans at the junkyard cheap. If I was you and wanted to try these, I would get two fans from the junkyard, mount them up and wire them up on toggle switches. Drive the truck and see if they keep it cool enough, if so mount them good and get 2 fan controllers to run them. Use 40 amp fuses.

[swatkins]

I am in Johnson City tonight... Just west of Austin...


In the next few days I Will show you what I have been running for the last two years.. I am on vacation right now so time is tight :)

I can tell you that it is a dual fan setup with the best and largest fans that can be installed behind the stack.. I am running the prototype of the Fan Damn system from Cool My Duramax.

It does not pull enough air to cool the truck when towing anything over 5000 lbs.. The factory fan can pull something like 17,000 CFM and no electric fan can even come close to that..

I am pulling right under the MAX weight GM specifies for my dually and it is a high profile trailer.. I have pulled this rig to California 3 times over two years, into Taos NM during the heat of the summer and all around central and western Texas...

I also pull a couple of goose necks that are loaded really heavy with stone.

No electric fan system can do what I am doing without an auxiliary radiator called the V2. Also from Cool My Duramax. That radiator fits into the area behind the bumper and also has a electric fan on it... So I have a total of 3 fans and two radiators on my truck. I also have a Mike L transmission cooler to help out..

I am very happy with the systems and can't wait to reinstall the fans when I get home :)

There is one problem... Spal makes the long life fans and controllers that Txchristpher uses on his system. The spal electronic fan controler is not working up to specifications now and they are reengineering it to beef it up... Cool My Duramax is not releasing any more Fan Damns until it is finished...

That contoller is a really a critical part of the system... It makes it a plug and play system and you don;t have to use any switches or worry about turning it off or on... The contoller turns on the fans ins steps according to the need... If there is no heat there are no fans running.. If the AC is turned on both main fans run to provide the air flow to cool the AC coils..
I have been running the same batteries that came with the truck three years ago... No problems with either one and no problems with any part of the electrical system...

There are some limitation on pulling heavy... You just can't get away with it in the high mountains in the summer... Just not enough cooling power... Other than that I would not be afraid to take my rig most places :) The attatched picture is where my factory fan lives now, well except for the trips to the dealer :)

[James Hess]

i know where johnson city is i go camping there every now and then up in pedrenalis falls i think i spelled it right not sure. do you know where roundrock and taylor are? i lived there for 5 years or so. any way i would love to get more information from you on these systems. you said the factory fan pulls something like 17,000 CFM is that because the RPM's or the shape of the fans? could they be designed differently? Cuda that would only still be 8600 CFM with both fans pulling max power not enough is there any way to stack these fans back to back to create more suction or is that not logical

[swatkins]

The fans can't be stacked.. not any room... Believe me.. if there was another way to cram more fans in front or back we tried it :) Hell we even tried sticking two thin fans inside the fan shroud and left the factor fan in place... :)

Electrics simply can spin fast enough and carry a big enough fan blade to do the job alone..

[Diesel Tech]

A factory fan when fully engaged draws about 25 - 30 Hp from the motor. There would need to be one hell of a big electric motor to drive something like a factory fan.

[James Hess]

so your syaing there is a way to put a larger motor on the fans or amplify the power in some sort?

[swatkins]

That's been tried too.. It can't be done without a lot of money invested... Then you need a bigger electrical system...

What I am running is working for me.. It has limitation when you pull heavy but the benefits far outweigh them in my case..

[James Hess]

i think in my case it would be the same as you seeing as how i dont pull often and when i do it wont be extream.

[swatkins]

This is what I have been pulling around with the electric fans :)

http://www.coolmyduramax.com/truck2.jpg

[James Hess]

HEEEYYY nice truck bud! :thumb: :thumb: ):h thats a big mamojamma that trailer! bet its nice.

[swatkins]

I am typing this from the kitchen table inside that baby :) IT is nice :)

[James Hess]

:thumb:

[Reefermax]

i put electric fans on my freezer van which is a 2500 express with the 6.0litre gasser (which has a crappy cooling system as it is) and i have shoved in there the largest radiator flex-alite makes, big mistake, it needs a dual battery if not a dual alt sysetem, and the fans are constantly going. Might need to do a secondary radiator as someone mentioned earlier?

[RickDLance]

I expect the v2 will bolt right in and solve your problems. You might need to modify the hose routing a little, but I'm sure it would be worth it.

[NWTDIESEL]

For us guys that live 6,800 ft up in the clouds, elec fans arent even a option for us. One of my friends tried it and he would over heat all the time. Just not enough air up here....